Lens Implantation in Vienna: The Premium Solution for Extreme Diopters and Presbyopia

With EVO ICL (often for patients under 45), your natural lens remains in the eye; we place a wafer-thin artificial lens in front of it. With lens exchange (mostly for patients over 50), your own aging lens is removed and replaced with an artificial premium lens (EDOF or trifocal).

Myopic eyes are anatomically longer. If the voluminous natural lens is replaced by a very flat artificial lens during lens exchange, the vitreous humor shifts. This creates mechanical tension on the retina. The risk of dangerous retinal detachment (ablatio retinae) increases drastically. Therefore, for safety reasons, we generally do not perform RLE on myopic patients.

No. Your eyes are locally anesthetized with drops. During the surgery (which only takes 10 to 15 minutes per eye), you will only feel slight pressure, but no pain whatsoever.

Absolutely not. The lenses are positioned with micrometer precision inside the eye. There are no pain nerves there. Unlike a normal contact lens, you will not feel the implants when blinking or rubbing.

From “Collamer”, a highly developed material made of collagen and polymer. It is 100% biocompatible. Thanks to its “anti-deposit” property, no protein deposits form on it. The immune system does not recognize it as a foreign body, which is why there is never a rejection reaction.

No. The lens is anatomically perfectly positioned behind the iris and in front of your own lens. It sits there absolutely securely and stably – even during extreme physical activities (combat sports, bungee jumping).

No. This is the biggest advantage of EVO ICL over laser eye surgery (like LASIK). Since no corneal nerves are severed, the control of your tear film remains completely intact. ICL implants are the best option for patients suffering from dry eyes.

Both the EVO ICL and the lenses used in lens exchange are designed to remain in the eye for a lifetime. The material does not age or cloud.

With ICL, we only add a lens without destroying your anatomy. It can be removed at any time in minutes. With lens exchange, we remove your own lens. This is a permanent, irreversible process.

Multifocal lenses refract light in different rings. At night, scattered light can occur at these rings (halos around car headlights). The brain learns through “neuroadaptation” in the first 3 to 6 months to filter out these effects. With EDOF lenses, this risk is extremely minimized.

Visual recovery is extremely fast. Most patients see excellently on the first day after surgery. However, with multifocal lenses in lens exchange, the brain still needs a few weeks to perfectly adapt to the new, stepless optics.

Office work, including screen work, is usually possible again after about 3 days.

Light sports (jogging, exercise bike) are allowed again after 3-4 days. Swimming (Alte Donau, thermal baths) and sauna are strictly forbidden for 3 weeks to avoid severe bacterial infections inside the eye (endophthalmitis). You should avoid combat sports for about 4 weeks.

A posterior capsule opacification only occurs with lens exchange. Months or years after the operation, the natural lens capsule can become cloudy. Vision becomes milky. We “polish” this capsule painlessly in the office with a YAG laser in 60 seconds. After that, vision is crystal clear forever.

Absolutely not on the day of the surgery. At the medical check-up the following day, Dr. Derhartunian will give you consent as soon as the legal visual acuity is reached.

Makeup particles and cream vapors endanger the microbiological sterility in the operating room. Please come with a freshly washed, completely makeup-free face.

Please completely refrain from eye make-up for at least 1 week to prevent infections from bacteria in mascara or eyeshadow.

Contact lenses deform the cornea and affect the biometric measurements for the artificial lens. Please remove soft lenses 1 week and hard lenses 4 weeks before the examination.

With the ICL, we often operate on both eyes on the same day. With lens exchange, both eyes are usually operated on in the same session, each as a separate procedure with its own instruments. On request, we operate on them on separate days.

Yes, absolutely. Both the EVO ICL and premium replacement lenses are available as “toric” versions. These are precisely adapted to the axis of your astigmatism.

A toric lens must sit in the calculated axis. Rarely, it rotates slightly in the first weeks, and vision becomes less sharp again. That is why we check the axis position at every follow-up. If the lens has rotated, we realign it in a short procedure.

Premium safety allows no rushing. Precise optical biometry (IOL Master), measurement of anterior chamber depth (MS39), endothelial cell count, and retinal examination with dilated pupils all take time. Added to this is the detailed medical consultation and informed-consent discussion.

Lens implants are the high-end class of surgery. An EVO ICL or a lens exchange with premium lenses (EDOF/trifocal) often costs between 3,000 and 4,500 Euros per eye. The price reflects the extremely high material costs of the Swiss or US implants (Collamer).

No. Health insurance only covers a standard lens for already advanced cataracts. Implantation for glasses-free vision is considered a private service. However, you can claim the costs as “extraordinary expenses” in your employee tax assessment.

Yes, in cooperation with our reliable financing partners, we offer convenient installment payments.

Yes, absolutely without problems. Should you develop cataracts in old age (e.g., at 75), the EVO ICL will be removed in a few minutes, and a normal cataract operation (lens exchange) will be performed. The ICL absolutely does not block any medical paths for you in the future.

Our follow-up schedule is strict: 1 day after surgery, 1 week after surgery (extremely important for checking intraocular pressure and lens position), 1 month after surgery, and an annual check-up. We provide continuous support.

No. We remove the natural lens with ultrasound (phacoemulsification) through an incision of 2.2 to 2.4 mm. According to the recommendations of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), laser-assisted surgery (FLACS) is equivalent to the manual technique and does not measurably improve the visual acuity achieved. We therefore do not offer it, and there is no femtosecond laser surcharge.

No. Lens implantation is the umbrella term for two procedures. With the ICL, an additional lens is placed in front of your own; your own lens stays and the ICL can be removed again. With lens exchange, your own lens is replaced by an artificial lens, which is permanent. Which option suits you depends mainly on your age, your refractive error and the condition of your own lens.

This is a common name for the ICL: a thin lens made of Collamer that sits behind the iris in front of your own lens. Unlike a contact lens, you cannot feel it and it needs no care. It stays in the eye permanently but can be removed if needed.

If the cornea is healthy and your values are within the laser range, a laser procedure is usually the first choice because no surgery inside the eye is needed. A lens is an option for very high refractive errors, a cornea that is too thin or irregular, dry eyes or, from about 55, if presbyopia is to be treated as well. The pre-operative examination shows which option suits your eyes.